


The Stranger In The Cave

by TerresDeBrume



Series: Life in Muted Blue. [3]
Category: Myth - Atlantide, X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Mention of Mutilation, Regrowing limbs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-22
Updated: 2011-09-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 23:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/256079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerresDeBrume/pseuds/TerresDeBrume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The red man turns back with a glare, and Riptide shrugs, placing a finger on his nose -<i>I smell</i>- then his jugular –<i>blood</i>- a beat, and then he extends his right arms and brings his hand back to his shoulder, palm turned inward -<i>close</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stranger In The Cave

Erik points at Azazel, then Riptide, and he traces a circle in front of him in the water, before he points at the lone dolphin peacefully drifting near the surface - _Circle it_ \- he then mimes indicates his chest, then Angel’s - _we_ \- the act of shooing someone away - _will push it towards you_.

Azazel nods and takes off, strong tail whipping at the water to push him further, his red complexion a start contrast to the stormy blue surrounding him. Janos is right behind him, all sleek grey skin and powerful movement. The two of them are silent as they swim close to the sea bottom, Azazel’s tail propelling him ahead of Riptide without any effort. They’re in position and ready to catch the Dolphin whenever Erik and Angel push it toward them, until Riptide tugs at Azazel’s short hair.

The red man turns back with a glare, and Riptide shrugs, placing a finger on his nose - _I smell_ \- then his jugular – _blood_ \- a beat, and then he extends his right arms and brings his hand back to his shoulder, palm turned inward - _close_.  
Azazel rolls his eyes, mimes a spiked Mohawk with his right hand - _Erik_ \- he pulls a face, traces his thumb quickly over his left jugular - _is going to kill us_.  
It’s Riptide’s turn to roll his eyes and drags his own thumb along the width of his own throat - _He’ll drag it out_ \- and places his right hand in front of his mouth, fingers crooked to mime jaws - _if it’s one of us_ \- his hand goes to his heart, thumb up - _a friend._

Azazel rolls his eyes again but doesn’t argue further and, soon, they’re all following Riptide and Erik to the nearby reef, guided by the smell of blood no shark can ever miss. Azazel looks bored, as usual, but Angel can see the way his tail twitches in anticipation, the poisonous sting nearly dripping at its end. They swim for a while, shuffling through the bushes, until they finally find the source of the smell.  
It’s a guy in the back of a cave, but that’s about all they can see, because he’s huddled in pretty deep and the light is really poor. His body is mostly cream-ish white, with dark red protuberances that looks extremely solid… and indeed, when Erik tries to approach him, the back of the guy’s hand leaves a nice, dotted imprint on his cheek.

Erik’s fins rise on his head and arms, spreading in his back like those things the seagulls use to swim in the sky. He checks himself quickly though, and the delicate looking membranes go back to being flat, his skin almost looking smooth in the poor light. The smell of blood is strongest here, Angel guesses, because she can smell it too, despite her poor nose –women like her are well known for their poisonous flesh, not for their odor-tracking skills- and when her eyes have adjusted to the lightning and she squints a bit, she can make out a right arm without a hand.  
She would gasp, if she could.

Erik holds out his own hands, outstretched and held next to the black dots on his shoulders in the universal _I’m not going to hurt you_ sign. The stranger, whose head is so covered in red knobs it looks like he’s got really thick red hair, shoots them all a look of distrust, pointedly looking at Azazel’s tail, Erik and Riptide’s jaws, Angel’s four large brown stripes on whitey-grey scales. She holds out her hands too, and the light painfully filters through the web linking her fingers.

She points at Riptide and Erik - _They_ \- a shake of the head, and then she bring her right hand to her mouth, all five fingertip pressed to her lips - _don’t eat_ \- joining her hands, she raises them in front of herself, all the while giving them a waving movement; then her forefinger and middle finger mime legs walking, but in an horizontal position - _Fishfolks_.  
The stranger points at himself and reproduces the joined hands sign, but this time he puts his hands in front of himself, palms facing him so that his non-webbed fingers form a sort of crown... or would, if he still had both of his hands - _I’m a Starfish_.  
Angel rolls her eyes and makes a face, because she pointedly knocks her knuckles on the strong knobs covering the stranger’s body: they’re solid as rock, and no Saltwater People would try and pierce that; Starfishes are very well known for their thick skin, and although some Clearwater People try to attack them once in a while, they generally didn’t go back home very successful.

Once it’s clear none of them will attack the Starfish stranger, Angel finally introduces the quartet to him, then asks for his name. The stranger uses a knife and his left hand to trace slow, wobbly letters –he must be right-handed- and she has to squint hard before she can make the word out. Darwin, it reads. Erik nods and, bringing his right hand in front of him, he mimes pinching three spots just above the skin: this is going to be the sign they use to designate the newcomer in their group.

Later, after they’ve had a meal made of urchins and anemones and starfishes –the small kind, which Darwin still refuses to eat- Angel asks if Darwin’s hand is okay, because she can’t smell the blood anymore, and then how he’ll do without it. Darwin looks surprised at the question, and she patiently explains that yes, having a hand cut off from his arm _will_ change his life.

He gives her a look that says _Duh_ and then mimes again: _I’m a Starfish_.

Angel gapes at the premises of a new hand forming on his wrist for a good minute and a half before Erik forcefully sets them on the move again. They have, after all, people to meet.  
Half an hour later, they are once again swimming westward, this time with a fifth member to take the rear.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, the fishes that inspired the appearances of the characters:
> 
> Erik=> Epaulette Shark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hemiscyllium_ocellatum_060417w1.jpg + Volitan Lionfish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pterois_volitans_Manado-e_edit.jpg  
> Darwin=> Red-knobbed Starfish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Red-knobbed.starfish.arp.jpg  
> Janos=> Tiger Shark http://www.scubaherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/tiger-shark.jpg  
> Angel=> Valentini Pufferfish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Valentinni%27s_Sharpnose_Puffer.jpg (highly poisonous to eat)  
> Azazel=> Flame Angelfish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centropyge_loricula.jpg + Round Stingray http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Urobatis_halleri.jpg (poisoned peak near the tail)


End file.
